Forging a path from solutions journalism to reader revenue
Why publishers can expect to attract loyal readers likely to pay with stories that go beyond problems and focus on responses
Solutions Journalism Network’s previous research shows that stories that focus on responses to problems can increase readers’ intention to become civically engaged and impact the public discourse.
While that alone may inspire newsrooms to adopt a solutions journalism approach, a new study of a year’s worth of audience data from a dozen publishers shows that in addition to providing a democracy dividend, this type of reporting offers a high likelihood of increased reader revenue.
The Reuters Institute and the University of Oxford’s Digital News Report 2020 found that a majority of people who pay for news in the U.S. do so because they want to “help fund good journalism” and see high-quality, distinctive journalism as something worth paying for.
It’s difficult to define what readers deem “good journalism,” but we’re given a strong signal in the digital trails of readers we already know are more likely to pay: those who come to a news publication’s website often, and who read a lot.
I worked with the Solutions Journalism Network to analyze traffic patterns at a dozen publishers over the course of 2020. Our core question was: Is the social impact of solutions journalism matched by its potential to deliver crucial revenue to the newsroom?
In our research, we compared the patterns of readers who had viewed solutions journalism with those who had not. Our findings suggest that solutions journalism appeals to highly engaged readers who are more likely to provide financial support to newsrooms.
The data also shows that this approach to reporting provides publishers with a built-in opportunity to target messaging about newsletter subscriptions and reader revenue programs.
See full report here.
Key takeaways
- Solutions journalism readers were more loyal. Readers of solutions journalism account for disproportionate return activity and engagement on news websites. Those who read solutions journalism averaged 9.4 times more sessions than those who did not, and accumulated more page views.
- Readers spent more time on the site when a session included solutions journalism. Sessions in which audiences read solutions journalism showed a higher level of engagement than sessions without solutions journalism. Sessions with solutions journalism saw readers spend an average of 52 seconds longer on the website, for an average total of 103 seconds, as compared with 51 seconds without solutions journalism.
- Readers who encountered solutions journalism on their first visit appeared more likely to return. For 10 of the 12 publications included in this study, solutions journalism helped attract an untapped audience. A majority of the traffic on pages that featured solutions journalism consisted of new readers coming to the publication’s website for the first time. These new readers were more likely to become returning users; audiences who read solutions journalism were, on average, 2.7 times more likely to return.
- Solutions journalism readers were more likely to be newsletter subscribers. A greater percentage of those who read solutions journalism subscribed to the publication’s newsletter than those who did not read solutions journalism. On average, over 9% of solutions journalism readers subscribed to the publications’ newsletters, compared with 3.5% of all other readers.
- The totality of the data implies solutions journalism offers an opportunity to effectively identify, attract and engage the highest-quality segments of an existing audience for sustainability initiatives. This shows its potential to grow and monetize audiences, provided newsrooms adopt strategies and infrastructure oriented toward these goals.
Translating loyalty to revenue
A reader’s frequency of visits is one of the top indicators of a propensity to subscribe or join a reader revenue program, according to research by Mather Economics, FTI Consulting via the Google News Initiative, and others.
The Lenfest Institute found that the likelihood of readers’ converting to a paid subscription or membership program increases the most when they have read five or more articles per month or they subscribe to a newsletter. And several major news publications have shared data regarding the positive impact of newsletter sign-ups on paid subscription programs.
The overwhelming trend throughout the data set is that solutions journalism delivers the kind of loyal and engaged audience that is more likely to enter reader revenue programs to support journalism.
Solutions journalism readers are more likely to visit the publisher’s website frequently — over 9 times more often on average, and 31.7 times more often in the case of the largest publisher in our set.
We also know that solutions journalism readers are more likely to subscribe to a newsletter at some point.
These two data points alone provide strong evidence that the solutions journalism readership would support a news publication’s sustainability efforts by joining a subscription or membership program.
The analysis surfaced one additional data point that underscores another benefit of solutions journalism: It can attract new audiences that are more likely to return to the website than audiences who are not reading solutions journalism.
While sessions that did not include solutions journalism attracted 69.6% new readers (i.e., those categorized as new visitors) on average across the publishers, and sessions that did include solutions journalism had a slightly lower new user rate of 64.7%, readers of solutions journalism were 2.7 times more likely to return than those who were not reading solutions journalism.
This suggests solutions journalism is also good at attracting new readers, a trend we wouldn’t expect to see if it was being found only by existing die-hards. But, importantly, these new readers are more likely to become loyal, habitual readers who may financially support the publication’s journalism.
Taken altogether, the data shows that solutions journalism is effective at reaching an audience that is more likely to pay, giving publishers an opportunity to put strategic marketing infrastructure and messages in front of those readers.
Strategic implications for publishers
Equipped with this knowledge, publishers can embrace several steps to capitalize on the opportunity offered by solutions journalism.
- Spotlight the solutions work. Increase signposting and messaging so that solutions journalism is core to the publication’s brand. The goal here is twofold: to help readers of other content more easily find their way to solutions journalism, and to demonstrate that this kind of coverage is synonymous with the publication’s reputation and value proposition.
- Put prominent messaging for your reader revenue program on solutions journalism stories. For longer stories, consider multiple messages throughout the story — not just at the end of the article. Take the time to craft these messages to reflect what makes solutions journalism unique and how readers’ support can ensure more of it.
- Create a newsletter list for solutions stories. Providing solutions readers with an opportunity to identify themselves by sharing their email addresses will allow you to better target them even when they’re not reading solutions content. You can message this list for support.
- Invest in social distribution for solutions journalism. The data suggests that those who encounter solutions journalism in their first session are more likely to return. So take extra time to reach new audiences interested in this work. That could mean engaging more deeply in relevant Facebook groups or Reddit threads, for example, or using paid promotion to expand the reach of solutions journalism.
- Invest in reader engagement opportunities around solutions journalism. In-person and virtual events, crowdsourced reporting and topic-oriented digital communities are some of the types of programming you can produce around your solutions journalism, providing opportunities to better know and build relationships with these readers.
- Prioritize topic-driven solutions reporting for fundraising initiatives. One-off fundraising campaigns around specific initiatives allow publishers to seek additional support from existing paying readers, and also raise funds from readers who are not interested in joining a monthly or annual reader revenue program. Solutions journalism around timely issues and news events is a strong calling card for such fundraising.
- Send automated messaging to solutions readers. A series of well-crafted messages triggered by visits to a solutions URL can deepen audience engagement and should be a high priority for tailored messaging.
Our data show that a specific, structured solutions journalism reporting focus can build a strong foundation for an engaged audience. With more research, we can learn which categories pair well with solutions journalism — either as the subject of that reporting, or as adjacent content in a broader editorial strategy to develop hyperengaged audiences that support journalism.
Producing solutions journalism helps ensure more sustainable audiences and opens up new potential revenue. To fully realize this potential, the data suggests newsrooms should ensure that solutions reporting initiatives are planned at least a few times a year, that the approach becomes central to their messaging, and that they have tactics in place to put solutions readers on a path to membership or paid subscription.
See the full report and the underlying data here.
Alec Saelens, SJN’s Revenue Project manager, produced the research, contributing to the analysis and writing of this study.
Ned Berke is the vice president, head of audience strategy at BlueLena, where he manages audience growth and reader revenue strategies for more than 70 local, regional, niche and national news brands. He has previously worked with newsrooms through the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism (CUNY) and the Center for Cooperative Media at Montclair State University. He was a co-founding board member of the Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers association and has been a local news reporter, editor and publisher.
